Edit: I see some other people online claiming that Gulc was in fact #10 in 1993, so it may be true. However, the same lists state that NU wasn't top 10 until sometime after 2003, long after the term "T14" became generally accepted. Therefore, either way, it's not really a case of those schools all having been ranked in the top 10 by USNews -- it's more a matter of the schools having stronger student bodies, more national placement, etc. One could say it's a matter of those schools all having a reasonable claim to being a top 10 school in one respect or another, though some schools are clearly, consistently top 10 in most measures, and others (the 10-14 schools) are more fighting it out for the #10 spot.

It's more about being a national school in the sense that national firms OCI at your school. That's it. UCLA, USC, Texas, and Vandy don't bring in Seattle/CA/NYC/DC/Texas firms like GULC. It doesn't mean that BigLaw is a guarantee, or that these schools will get you a job, but you can count on finding a Miami firm at your OCI, regardless of the fact that your school is in Boston, Chicago, or NYC.

It's more about being a national school in the sense that national firms OCI at your school. That's it. UCLA, USC, Texas, and Vandy don't bring in Seattle/CA/NYC/DC/Texas firms like GULC. It doesn't mean that BigLaw is a guarantee, or that these schools will get you a job, but you can count on finding a Miami firm at your OCI, regardless of the fact that your school is in Boston, Chicago, or NYC.

That's certainly a major part of it. That in turn reflects the fact the schools have better national reputations, better student numbers, etc.

Also agreed that biglaw isn't necessarily guaranteed from these schools, especially the 11-14 schools. However, it's obviously far more likely than from the remaining schools, and employment generally is also far easier. I'm sure everyone already realize this, though.